Yesterday at 4:45 p.m. news broke that the Oilers had traded Ladislav Smid to Calgary, and a half hour later the Ilya Bryzgalov signing became official. Some wondered if the two deals were connected. I believe they were, but not just for financial reasons.

Trading Smid freed up $2.786 million in cap space for the remainder of the season, and $3.5 mill cap hit for the following three years, while Ilya Bryzgalov was signed for $1.75 million, which starting today is $1.393 million in actual cap space. The Oilers could have signed Bryzgalov to that deal without moving Smid; however, I do see a connection between the moves.

The Oilers aren't making the playoffs this season. The coaches and players won't think that way, as they should, but in making these moves I believe Craig MacTavish recognizes the disappointing reality that the Oilers are already 12 points out of a playoff spot.

I expect the Oilers to be better in their final 65 games, but they won't go 38-17-6 in their final 65 (which would give them 92 points).

An hour after making the deal, MacTavish stated that he felt the Oilers had more depth on the blueline, and he expected Oscar Klefbom or Darnell Nurse to be two possibilities to replace Smid's size. Klefbom is 6'3" while Nurse is 6'4", but neither will replace Smid right now. Both of them will push for a roster spot next season, although Klefbom likely will get some games near the end of this season.

MacTavish made this move with the long-term future in mind, more than the short term, and I believe the Bryzgalov move was also made with the bigger picture in mind.

MacTavish is hoping Bryzgalov can come in and either out perform Devan Dubnyk, or push him to play better. That helps right now, but more importantly he needs solid goaltending so his players can taste some success. I don't see the Bryzgalov signing as a big risk. He can't be worse than what they have, and despite some of his past comments, I doubt he will be a bad influence in the dressing room.

The Oilers are finally starting to get comfortable with Dallas Eakins system, and if they can get some victories they are more likely to buy in even more and should enter next season more comfortable in their overall game. For that to happen they need better goaltending.

The Oilers outplayed Tampa Bay on Thursday, one of the better teams in the league, but they lost. We all saw the need to try and improve the goaltending right away, but I feel that MacTavish also did it with an eye on next season.

Eakins isn't getting fired, and next year will be the first time in four seasons that the Oilers won't have to learn a new system. They will enter a season with some actual continuity and understanding of their system. They won't need 10, 15 or 50 games to get comfortable with their new coach.

The Oilers need to have a strong second half. They will get more comfortable in the system, and if they can win some games down the stretch, at least they will end the season with some confidence.

These trades were about the big picture, and the Smid move also gave MacTavish some cap flexibility so he can make even more moves leading up to the trade deadline.

SMID TRADE...

The Oilers lose this trade today; because Roman Horak and Laurent Brossoit are both prospects and there is no guarantee either one of them will ever play. They won't help the Oilers today. It is fair to question why MacTavish made the move, but I believe he made it to get some cap flexibility short term and long term, and he felt Smid was expendable.

Smid was their best shot blocker and most physical defender. He will be missed. Despite his offensive shortcomings, no one ever questioned his willingness and desire. He competed, and he was sick of losing. He was well-liked in the dressing room, and he really enjoyed living in Edmonton. I know being a good guy off the ice, doesn't always coincide with victories on the ice, but the community will miss him. I

On a personal note, I enjoyed interacting with Smid. He was always throwing out barbs and chirps. He would chirp anyone and he was always smiling, even when he was pissed off. A part of me feels bad for Smid, because he is leaving one rebuild for another. I don't see him racking up a lot of wins in Calgary and being on a losing team for that long must start to wear on a guy.

At the same time I don't think Smid's departure is a major blow to the Oilers. They will miss his competitiveness and shot-blocking abilities, but Andrew Ference plays the same game, and if Klefbom is ready next season he has more overall upside.

I also don't think Taylor Fedun's play led to the Smid trade. Craig MacTavish said he had been discussing this deal with the Flames for a few weeks. Smid's puck moving ability was a concern for the team, especially in Dallas Eakins' new system.

TODAY'S GAME....

The Oilers and Flyers are the poster boys for underachieving so far this season. The Oilers sit in the basement of the western conference, while the Flyers are a disappointing 2nd last in the east. The Flyers only have nine points.

Claude Giroux has 0 goals in 15 games. Scott Hartnell has 1 point in 11 games. Wayne Simmonds and Jacob Voracek each have 1 goal in 15 games.

Giroux had 41 goals and 140 points in his previous 125 games.
Hartnell had 45 goals and 75 points in his previous 114 games.
Simmonds had 43 goals and 81 points in his previous 127 games.
Voracek had 40 goals and 85 points in his previous 126 games.

The Flyers are struggling because their best forwards can't produce.

Flyers analyst Steve Coates told me yesterday that the Flyers are an extremely fragile team right now. When something goes wrong in a game they unravel, and they haven't been able to overcome adversity.

Despite below average goaltending and some five-star giveaways the Oilers haven't folded their tents, except for the brutal Detroit game, so far this season. The Oilers have at least battled throughout the majority of their games.

The Oilers need to attack the Flyers right away. Score first and see if the Flyers will wilt. Eventually Giroux, Hartnell, Simmonds and Voracek are going to start scoring, the Oilers have to try and delay that inevitability for at least one more game.

LINEUP...

The fourth line could also include Ryan Jones or Wil Acton. Those players rotated in and out during yesterday's practice.

David Perron and Jesse Joensuu will return to the lineup, and the Oilers will dress their healthiest forward group of the season. If you switched Yakupov for Arcobello, the top three lines would be what most projected them to be, but Arcobello has earned the right to stay in the top-nine.

If the Oilers can stay healthy, Eakins will finally have the option to move guys in and out, or up and down the lineup based on performance.

Ference-Petry
Belov-Larsen
N.Schultz-Fedun

Dubnyk

The D pairs could also change with Anton Belov replacing Smid. The Oilers backend isn't very big or physical, but the Oilers feel they can move the puck quickly, and that should allow their fast, skilled forwards to generate offence.

MORNING GLORY....

GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Flyers and Oilers will each get a point. This one ends in a SO, and the Oilers get the bonus point in a 4-3 win.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Wanye and many others miss the first period. Wanye slept in because he spent three hours talking to babes on line after returning home from the bar. Unlike Chip from Napolean Dynamite, none of Wanye's babes lived in the same country, however, so there will be no nuptials in his immediate future. But he will SQUEEEEEEEE when Eberle scores in the 2nd period.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Fedun scores for the third consecutive game. His comeback story just gets better and better as he becomes the first D-man in the expansion era to score a goal in his first three NHL games. Fedun was the first D-man to score in his first two games since, Marcus Ragnarsson in 1995/1996. (Thanks to Elias Sports Bureau for getting me that answer.)

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

MacT trading what little toughness he had on the back end in Smid for magic beans.If they wanted Brossoit the should of drafted him.I was hoping they would. Mistake.

Not signing a legit goalie to push Dubnyk .Mistake.

Not getting a legit number two centre.Mistake

Signing Hemsky for five million mistake

Signing Grebs. Mistake.

I could keep going on but I will stop with.The press conference to remove all doubt the team is run by morons.Mistake.

Spyder, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and go get yourself management job with some junior B club. Honestly you are offering nothing but "I said this before, they should have done this....Blah blah blah. You have it in your head that you know more about the NHL then those that have spent the last 30 years INSIDE it. Give it a break. There is a slight chance that you don't have all of the information right? Have all the moves been perfect, you dont have to like them but put your ego down and go back to offering something useful to the conversation

If the club needed cap flexibility going forward, then why sign Ference this past summer to that ridiculous contract? Why sign freakinGrebeshkov after he washed out of the KHL for ridiculous money? Why verbally agree to not trade Gagner and sign him to big money?

Ference is older(past his best actually) slightly more expensive, and signed to an equally long contract. Other than experience winning, Ferrence brings no upgrades over Smid.

I guess that is the thanks Smid gets for giving up his UFA open market status, and signing a four year deal for slightly less than market money. He committed to this city in every way, and was discarded for a miserable return.

I am sorry , and i know its going to take more than a minor miracle to make the playoffs however, you need to alter this lineup still, Not giving pieces away but moves still need to be made and i expect some very soon. You do not give up on the season with 65 to play. Play as good as they did against T.Bay and we win this one. If Dubnyk plays even remotely well that is. Personally , i can't wait for Bryz to get in the cage and see what he can do.

Smid woulda blocked that second goal. Wait, apparently we don't need that aspect on this SOFT team. Starting today, I'm cheering for every team that plays Edmonton until Kblowe, McT, and Eakins are gone!!!!!!!

Why does Ryan Smyth play.. as a season ticket holder for the past 15 years its extremely disappointing that they play Smyth....he's slow, can't shoot, dosent block shots, and kills offensive attacks repeatidly yeet today he played more than 17 minutes. He's the worst player in the NHL and its frusterating not only to play him but to play him that much....

Listening to MacT's comments, they were obviously high on the goalie prospect that they acquired for Smid. As for Smid, he was a warrior and one of my favorites but we have too many defence men and given his cap number, the only one of value in a trade at this point in time. As for Bryzgalov, desperate times call for desperate measures and his contract is low risk for one season. However, it signals to me that LaBarbera and Dubnyk are both likely to be gone by this time next year. Welcome to Bold Moves Territory. Population: 2.

GDP: oilers 4 flyers 3

The moves will get some players finally motivated to play a full 60 minutes.

What would you have them do? Not try? The one year contract means MacT is willing to let Bryz play for a new contract next year with another team and hopefully we can benefit from a motivated 33 year old with limited time left. He might even be worth something at the deadline if he plays well. The signing was forced on all of us.

The GM should have grabbed a goalie in the off season like this commentator suggested many times.Instead they sign Dubnyk's buddy to back him up.

Yet another mistake in a very long series of mistakes.

Now yet gain they a scrambling trying to find quick fixes instead of building a team the right way .From Goal on out to defence to centre then wing.They did is bass akwards and it appears with no long term plan in place.

So you like what the Oilers have done the last eight years?Good for you.

Lol. Some I like. I never did like tambo from the beginning, that set them back a bit with his passiveness and likely a Lowe puppet. I think Mact has more pull on his own than tambo did. With a new coach and so many new players I expected bumps this season. Not to mention shaky goaltending. I believe Mact put in a solid effort on trying to acquire a goalie this summer an came up short. I come here to vent a bit too I admit, things are rough. I learned last year during the lockout period not be so emotionally invested.

Is there suck a thing as being able to trade the team president? Go ahead and trade Lowe for a used skate sharpener and a bag of pucks.

The biggest problem with the current line up is the lack of grit and team toughness. Go through tonight's line up and check off which players are tough/gritty. Not many check marks right? I get trading Smid to free up cash but we just traded away a tough d-man and didn't get any toughness in return. Our forwards are the softest group in the nhl. You could maybe get away with that if all the d-men were big, tough, nasty, SOBs but our D might also be the softest in the league. It will take a lot of juggling and time by Mac T to address this issue.

With no realistic shot of making the playoffs bringing Bryz at the expense of laying Smid on the sacrificial alter shows that these clowns are not cut out for the job. Not only did they do the dirty dead, they gave a useful player to their arch nemesis Burke and the Flames. Burke has picked the pocket of many GM's for years. I think Feaster is one of the 3 worse GM's in the league and Burke is a giant blowhard, but top marks to them. We got bent over, fleeced, and laughed at on this one. The fat kid Nelson from the Simpson's is going HAHA!

The next five years maybe longer we Oilers fans will be roasted over this one. This is a trade that makes no sense. The only way you can save face is if Space Cadet goes unconscious and rolls this team into the dance. Otherwise this management group has shown some of the worst asset management we have ever seen.

Smid was worth a whole lot more then one tweener and a goalie prospect who may not be better then the one we gave up. How many more Rajala's, Hartikainen's, Souray's are we going to flush. Would not have to draft so high every year if you could manage prospects, and assets.

I got no beef with trading Smid. Bryz is not getting us anywhere, and not getting at minimum a roster player who we need, or can contribute is inexcusable because the goalie we have signed is barely an upgrade. Horak is a tweener, maybe he can slot in to 4rth line center. If anyone thinks Bryz can stop point blank shots off turnovers, and massive overplays created by the poorly coached team your completely and utterly insane. Philly been aweful defensively and when Bryz was not in a system that utilizes the trap, sound defensive zone coverage he will be exposed just like Philly who needed more then a big puck blocker. I'd rather get a return like the Sharks got for Murray who advanced scouting said was finished, which was two seconds. Now we have 2 extra contracts, a Russian Cosmonaut, and a continued bad cap situation we can now also be the brunt of all jokes in the NHL.. MacT inexperience at its finest. Can we get Charles Wong to buy the team, and sign Garth Snow assistant.

Jeebus, this is on coaching. the players have no idea what to do or where to be. Proof is in the fact that our special teams are a million times worse and we can't seem to do what we were good at last season. I think, looking at the effort, there is some kind of 'work to rule' going on here and they're giving DE the rope he needs to hang himself and his AHL systems. I think their doing EXACTLEY what they are asked. Except for DD.

I am disappointed that Smid was moved for prospects. I am amazed that Omark couldn't have been dealt as part of cap/contract clearing. What does that say about Omark who must be pissed that he's back in OKC after a brief, safe, though unspectacular, shot with the Oilers. I wonder what he did to which hockey god to be stuck in the situation he is in.

Oil 5-2 - just to tease us long suffering fans before they drop their next three.

MacT trading what little toughness he had on the back end in Smid for magic beans.If they wanted Brossoit the should of drafted him.I was hoping they would. Mistake.

Not signing a legit goalie to push Dubnyk .Mistake.

Not getting a legit number two centre.Mistake

Signing Hemsky for five million mistake

Signing Grebs. Mistake.

I could keep going on but I will stop with.The press conference to remove all doubt the team is run by morons.Mistake.

Mact actively tried to land a goalie this summer and decided to wait 17 games before signing the only one available for reasonable money/assets.

No one expected Gagner to get a broken jaw. Kinda hard to just grab a number 2 centre at the last minute. And I'm not suggesting Gagner is quite fit to be a centre, I never really thought he was great at centre as many others don't but that's the path the oilers are taking with him.

Tambo signed hemmer. Mact actively shopped him and eventually gave up because there were no takers. Now he's apparently shopping him again.

Grebs. You got me there. Brutal move but fairly low risk

As much as losing sucks the reality is Mact has been gm for a short period. Making changes takes time and effort. GM of the oilers may be one the the hardest GM positions in professional sports.

The physicality and the shots are starting to pile up for the Oilers now. I thought they heavily outplayed Tampa the other night and no that isn't an exhaggeration. This lineup being this healthy should start to generate more offense and people in their right spots. This team may be poised to go on a hot streak here. I love how Bryz looks absolutely nuts in almost all of his pictures.

These guys may finally be buying into the system and Ference finally showed some leadership jumping to Petry's defense on that dirty play. This team looks so different with Hall in the lineup.

The GM should have grabbed a goalie in the off season like this commentator suggested many times.Instead they sign Dubnyk's buddy to back him up.

Yet another mistake in a very long series of mistakes.

Now yet gain they a scrambling trying to find quick fixes instead of building a team the right way .From Goal on out to defence to centre then wing.They did is bass akwards and it appears with no long term plan in place.

He did. Labarberra could not have been predicted to be this bad. This is Mac T's do-over and he will grab a legit number one in free agency this summer.

If Bryz could be afforded without dealing smid, then why did they trade him?

Trading smid makes one if the leagues weakest defenses even weaker. And the prospects won't help save team morale this year.

Bryz is a very low percentage chance of success. I recommended taking that chance at the beginning of the year when there was a sliver of hope of making the playoffs. Now with no hope, it is a senseless waste that ties up yet more $$ and a roster spot making a big deal near the trade deadline even harder to pull off.

This is - as robin posted earlier - a desperation set of moves made to save face and to demonstrate that management is trying to change the teams trajectory for this year - to hell with the long term consequences and to hell with trying to win the deal.

A better course of action would have been for MacT to call a presser and state that the teamsong term quest is the cup and that no moves will be made that retard the timeline of that quest. - no desperation moves. I think oilers nation is four square vmbehind that approach and that MacT's moves yesterday make them question whether he shares that view.